


We Could Make the 5 o’Clock News

by JustFicThings



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-02
Updated: 2015-08-02
Packaged: 2018-04-12 14:16:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4482404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustFicThings/pseuds/JustFicThings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>News station AU. Laura Hollis is a bright eyed and bushy tailed new field reporter at Channel 9 News hoping to report on important stories, only to be continuously assigned things like ‘petting zoo alpaca delights children’s party’. When her college roommate Betty goes missing, she enlists sports reporter Danny Lawrence to help, dragging beleaguered cameraperson Carmilla along for the ride.</p><p>Features season 1 Kirsch as the other sportscaster with a primary focus on sports with ‘hotties in cute uniforms’, and newscaster Perry and newscaster/weatherperson LaFontaine as feuding cohosts, as they both try to steer the reported stories in their favored directions (Perry has a special interest in unlikely animal friends while LaF tends to prefer stories of the death and destruction variety)</p><p>There is Hollence early on, but be warned, this is a Hollstein fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Laura Hollis Reporting For Duty

Laura tugged on her blazer and nodded firmly as she locked up her bike.  _My first day at Channel 9 News will be a success. I am a strong, capable, intelligent woman, and I will dominate this job,_  she thought to as she marched herself through the front doors. At the information desk she found a blonde secretary, dully flipping through a magazine.

“Hi Elsie!” Laura chirped pleasantly, reading the girl’s name tag. “I’m Laura Hollis, the new field reporter. I’m starting today and I’m supposed to find S. LaFontaine and L. Perry so that they can show me around?” Without looking up, Elsie jerked her head in the direction of a hallway.

“There’s a break room at the end. They should be in there bickering over what is and isn’t news.” Laura thanked her brightly and took off to find her new guides. At the end of the hall, she could make out the distinct sounds of banter before entering the room.

“Perry, ‘kitten falls in love with baby deer’ is not a news story.” A short-haired figure was busy arguing. “It just isn’t!” They cried, throwing their hands into the air.

“Oh, and I suppose ‘mass murderer releases venomous toad storm’ is any better? Besides, if that wasn’t news, then why would the channel have given me my own segment?” The other newscaster replied, red curls bouncing as she shook her head at her cohost.

“Erm, hi!” Laura piped up, and both LaF and Perry stared at her, startled at the interruption. “Sorry, is this a good time? I’m Laura Hollis, the new field reporter, and I’m supposed to start today.”

“Oh, wonderful!” Perry sang, immediately rushing over to put her hands on Laura’s shoulders. “We’re going to get you your badge immediately after you sign a few releases. The channel is very conscientious about potential liabilities!” She smiled eagerly. “I’m Lola Perry, one of the regular newscasters. She/her/hers.” She added quickly, as LaF smiled gratefully behind her.

“I’m LaFontaine! They/them/theirs. I’m her cohost, as well as the station’s meteorologist slash weatherperson.” They shook Laura’s hand before Perry hurried her off to complete her paperwork. As they left the break room, the new reporter could have sworn that she heard LaF announcing a thirty percent change of neurotoxic hail (whatever that was) as they practiced their segment for that evening.

After signing and initialing about 300 pages of paperwork (only about half of which she actually read), Laura was ready to get started.

“So what’s my first story?” She asked Perry keenly, opening up her notepad to jot down the details.

“Oh, it’s absolutely wonderful!” The newscaster replied. “The piece will be called ‘petting zoo alpaca delights children’s party.” If she saw laura’s face fall, Perry didn’t acknowledge it, and whisked Laura off to find her news van. On their way out to the parking lot, the new reporter walked straight into a very tall, very attractive woman. Blushing furiously, Laura looked up at her face and turned an even deeper shade of red.

“I’m so sorry! I can be pretty clumsy sometimes.” She admitted, trying in vain to will her cheeks to return to their normal shade.

“Don’t worry about it. You must be new here, I’m Danny Lawrence.” They shook hands and Laura tried to calm herself down. “I’m the resident sportscaster here. Well… one of them. But Kirsch hardly counts because his main interests are teams with, and I quote, ‘cheerleading hotties in sweet uniforms’. So it’s hard to take him very seriously.” Danny rolled her eyes, and laura was struck by how blue they were.  _Cool it Hollis,_  she thought desperately.  _You’re here to kick ass at reporting, not crush on gorgeous sportscasters._

“I’m Laura Hollis, new field reporter!” She said, and remembered that she was on her way to a site. “I’ve got a story, but I’ll see you around!”

Perry, who had continued to lecture on the history and rules of the station after losing Laura, finally turned around in confusion, and spotting the younger woman, guided her to the parking lot.

“Here’s your news van!” She trilled.

“Yes. It’s oh so very glamorous.” A monotone voice interjected. Laura turned towards the sound and found a woman dressed head to toe in black with camera equipment strapped to her back.

“Oh I don’t know, I think it’s rather quaint.” Perry said vaguely. “Anywho, Laura, this is your camerawoman.”

“Carmilla.” She nodded. “So cupcake, you’re the new one they sent to report on these inane stories?”

“I’m the new field reporter, yes.” Laura was taken aback by the camerawoman’s lazy drawl. “And if I’m being assigned these stories, I’m sure they’re of importance to the station.” She said with conviction. Carmilla pretended to gag.

“Ah, to be so young and naive. We’ll see if you still have this wide-eyed attitude once you’ve made a few of these pointless trips.”

“I guess we will!” Laura exclaimed, letting the woman in black provoke her more than she would have liked.

“Alright then, hop in sweetheart. We’re off to a children’s party.” Carmilla stowed her camera in the van and climbed into the driver’s seat.

“It’s Laura Hollis.”

“Whatever you say buttercup.” Laura silently fumed the entire ride, cursing whatever karmic retribution had caused her to be saddled with such a misanthropic cameraperson.


	2. Clear Your Calendar

“This has been Laura Hollis, stay safe and see you tomorrow Silas.” She signed off and sighed as Carmilla lowered her camera.

“What, the Alchemists’ Society centennial not exciting enough for you? Because for me it was  _truly_  thrilling to watch all of those old geezers accept their awards one by one.”

“I’m fine. Why do you do this job anyways, if you really hate it that much?” The camerawoman shrugged.

“Gotta pay the bills somehow.” Laura let out a strangled noise in frustration.  _How is it possible that she can care so little about every single thing?!_  The two got back into the news van and rode silently back to the station. Laura had stopped trying to make conversation about two stories ago, after becoming particularly enraged at Carmilla’s snide commentary about the induction of a  _Doctor Who_ themed house into the list of tourist landmarks in Silas.

Laura walked by Elsie’s desk on her way back to her office, and the secretary held out a stack of mail without taking her eyes off of the computer screen in front of her. Sifting through the bills, a hand-addressed envelope caught her eye. She started to tear open the letter as she slid into her office chair when there was a knock at her door.

Danny Lawrence peeked in and Laura instinctively smoothed her blouse.

“You busy?” The sportscaster asked.

“No, not at all! Come on in.” Laura said eagerly, straightening her desk. The redhead walked in with a plate of pie in one hand and forks in the other.

“Pie is the mandatory celebration for your first week at Channel 9.” Danny smiled, setting the slice of apple pie in front of Laura.

“Oh my god, you have no idea how much I needed this!” Laura exclaimed, gladly accepting a fork from her.

“Tough start?”

“Can family of ducks make it across road?” She asked, giggling at the confused look on Danny’s face before continuing to recite news stories she had covered so far. “New tenants report possible ghost in house - turns out to be wind.”

“Ah, not your brand of hard hitting journalism?” Danny asked understandingly.

“Not quite. But I guess beggars can’t be choosers. I’m lucky I even got this job.”

“No! I’m sure you’re brilliant. Just give it time and you can start suggesting your own stories.” Danny saw the half opened letter on Laura’s desk. “Sorry, did I catch you in the middle of checking your mail?”

“Oh! No, don’t worry about it. Do you mind if I read this though?” Danny shook her head and gestured for Laura to continue. “Oh gosh… Has it been five years already?” She wondered.

“Five years since what?”

“It’s just my college reunion. Wow, that really snuck up on me!” Laura took a moment to think about how far she’d come. “Wait, do you think it’s embarrassing if I go alone? Half of my class is already married…” She worried aloud.

“If you’re looking for a date, I’m sure that Wilson would be happy to oblige.” Laura wrinkled her nose at this suggestion and Danny’s heart skipped a beat.

“You know… He’s not really my type.” She hedged.

“Not into sportscasters?” Danny asked cautiously.

“No, I am!” Laura blushed at her unintentional burst of enthusiasm. “Um, just, I’d prefer to go with someone else.” She swallowed nervously. “You, for instance.” Her nerves, in danger of exploding just a moment ago, were calmed immediately by Danny’s enormous grin.

“Why Ms. Hollis, are you asking me to be your date?”

“I guess I am.” Laura smiled shyly. “How about it?”

“I’ll clear my calendar.” Their tender moment was interrupted by the sounds of gagging at Laura’s door.

“Oh sorry,” Carmilla could not have sounded more insincere. “I must have caught a whiff of something disgusting. Hollis, the curly haired ginger sent me here to tell you that we have another story. Something about too much cuteness at a ‘cat cafe’, whatever that is.”

“Oh, did  _Perry_  ask you to notify me?” Laura replied deliberately, determined to break Carmilla’s habit of referring to people by their physical attributes. “I’ll be out at the van in one moment.” The camerawoman rolled her eyes and shut the door. As soon as she was out of earshot, Danny and Laura burst into laughter.

“God, is she always like that?” The sportscaster asked incredulously.

“Always!” Laura exclaimed, glad to finally have someone understand. When she had gone to LaF and Perry about Carmilla’s… unproductive attitude, they had both just shrugged it off and told her that they just needed more time to bond, professionally speaking of course. “Ugh, I better go. Those cats aren’t going to report on themselves.” Laura got up reluctantly. “This was nice though. Maybe we can grab some more pie another time?”

“Another time.” Danny nodded with a smile.

As Laura walked out to the van, she pulled out her cellphone and texted her old roommate.  _Betty, you won’t believe the date I’m bringing to the Silas U reunion. You’re coming right?_  It was a few minutes before Laura heard the familiar  _ping_  of a text being received.  _Of course Hollis! If I don’t, who’s going to bring the party? See you next weekend!_


	3. 'Colleague' is the New 'Gal Pal'

The following week passed even more sluggishly for Laura than her first. She was still wading through endless fluff pieces about children finding unexpected appendages in their cereal boxes, the city’s ‘most enigmatic dog’ competition, and the discontinuation of a brand of pastries. Although Laura did personally mourn the demise of her favorite packaged snack cakes, it was definitely not the kind of story that she thought she would be covering when she left school.

Another thing that made the week drag on was the looming date of her college reunion. She was eagerly anticipating her date with Danny and the weekend couldn’t come soon enough. Carmilla caught on to her enthusiasm immediately, taking every opportunity to mock her and denying it had happened when Laura called her out.

Friday finally rolled around, and after finishing up a story about the newest styles in children’s pool floaties, Laura and Carmilla headed back to Channel 9 eagerly anticipating their time off.

“Do you have any plans this weekend?” Laura futilely attempted pleasant conversation as she searched for the aforementioned snack cakes that she had stashed in the van.

“There is a possible thing tomorrow night, but definitely the usual, a work dinner with a girl or two.” Carmilla smirked.

“With who?” The reporter continued to dig through the glove box, becoming more and more frustrated.

“Front-desk Elsie and one of the lighting interns… Natalie I think.” Carmilla pulled the van into the parking lot just as Laura discovered an empty pastry wrapper.

“Did you eat my snack cakes?!” She demanded, furiously turning to the camerawoman with the rage of a hundred chihuahuas.

“Will you relax, jelly bean? I’ll replace them if you’re that upset about it.”

“They were discontinued!” Laura shouted angrily. She’d just about had it with Carmilla.

“What a shame. If I had known, I wouldn’t have eaten it.” She replied unconvincingly.

“You were there when I reported on the story! You  _filmed_  it!” Carmilla just shrugged and locked up the van.

Laura was still berating her for eating her food and having no regard for personal possessions when they passed the front desk. Carmilla stopped to blow Elsie a kiss and give her a suggestive wink, neither of which were missed by Laura.

“Wait, is your ‘work dinner’ a  _date_?” Laura asked incredulously.

“Wow, you really don’t have an off setting do you? It’s a casual dinner with a colleague. A work dinner.” The reporter ignored her.

“So colleague is the new gal pal… Hold on, you’re dating Elsie… Do the station managers know? What’s the company policy about fraternization anyways?”

“I don’t date. And the company policy clearly states that they don’t give a shit as long as you keep it off the air. Looks like someone should have read the welcome packet before diving panties first at the giantess.” Laura was annoyed, but breathed a sigh of relief at this knowledge and left Carmilla to her own devices (which meant that she had already found a cute sound intern to flirt with).

She was halfway through packing up for the evening when Danny stopped by. The redheaded sportscaster was leaning against her doorframe, suit jacket flung over her shoulder. Laura felt excitement return to her stomach and smiled wholeheartedly.

“Danny! It’s nice to have you! Here! It’s nice to have you here. What’s up?” Laura cursed herself for screwing up basic words.  _Hollis, you are a journalist dammit!_

“I just wanted to confirm our plans for tomorrow.” Danny grinned at Laura’s flustered appearance. “Still on for dinner at 6 and then onto the marina?”

“Yup! I don’t know who decided to host the reunion on a boat. It means that I won’t be able to flee if something comes up.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be there to defend you from any unsavory memories!” Danny declared, smiling brightly. Laura  blushed; she was such a sucker for that smile. “Also, and I should have asked you this earlier, but what’s the dress code?” Hearing this, Laura groaned.

“I’m so sorry, I should have said something earlier! It’s actually black-tie, because whoever planned this reunion is a sadist. If you don’t have time to get something together, I totally understand!” Of course it would be a small detail like this that would ruin everything Laura had looked forward to for the whole week.

“Don’t worry, I think I’ll be able to throw something together. What color are you wearing, so I can make sure we don’t clash?”

“Here! Let me send you a picture of my dress!” Laura texted a photo to Danny, and say that she had an unread message from Betty waiting for her.  _Are you ready to relive our glory days in one drunken night of spectacular debauchery?!_  Laura laughed and shook her head. Betty really hadn’t changed one bit.  _I can promise you four shots of whatever you desire, no more, no less._   _I might be heading home a little early if you catch my drift ;)_  Laura sent back, giggling at how brazen her text was; Betty would be glad to see her let loose.

“So I’ll pick you up at 5:45?” Danny asked, grinning at the picture of the dress she had just received.

“Perfect! See you then!”

“See you then.” Danny confirmed with a nod. Laura slumped into her chair once the sportscaster had left and grinned like a fool. _This weekend is going to be perfect_ , she thought blissfully.


	4. A Less Controversial Employee

Laura tucked a stray piece of hair back into its rightful place and took a last glance in the mirror before nervously sitting down in her living room. When the doorbell rang, she jumped to her feet and opened it a bit too hastily, unprepared for the sight of Danny Lawrence clad in a gorgeous three-piece suit with her hands hidden behind her back.

“Wow,” Laura breathed. “You look amazing!”

“Thanks Laura,” Danny grinned modestly. “You look amazing too.” She pulled a bouquet of daylilies from behind her back and presented them to Laura.

“Oh Danny, you didn’t have to! Uh, wait here!” She dashed off to find a vase and left her date standing beneath the doorway in amusement. “Sorry!” She apologized when she returned, setting the flowers in water and locking the front door behind her. “Thanks for the lilies, they were such a nice gesture!”

“Really, it’s not a big deal. When I was looking for my vest and tie, I had flashbacks to prom and thought about getting you a corsage for fun. Anyways, I thought the sentiment would be better as a bouquet.” They laughed together as Danny started the car and they took off for the restaurant.

The entire ride over, Laura couldn’t help but admire how the redhead looked in that suit, noting cheerfully that Danny had matched her vest and tie to her own olive colored gown.  _Whoever said that redheads look good in shades of green was entirely correct_. Laura thought, trying not to stare for too long. Judging by the faint smile on Danny’s lips, she was failing spectacularly.

* * *

“So how did you get started at Channel 9?” Laura asked over dinner.

“They were looking for another sports reporter when Kirsch’s cohost quit to go do body shots off of springbreaking co-eds.” Danny said with disgust. “I applied for the job, and got it because the station was looking for a ‘less controversial’ employee.”

“Understandably.”

“How about you? What made you come to the station?”

“After graduation, I moved back home and spent a long time working at our local station. I guess I just finally needed to grow up and live on my own for once, so I came back to Silas and was lucky enough that Channel 9 was looking for someone. Although, sometimes I want to stab my eyeballs out with a pencil.”

“Hey, don’t worry too much about that. You’ll catch a big story soon and it’ll open the door to more important stories. You’ll see.” Danny smiled reassuringly and Laura felt a warm pulse in her chest.

“Thanks Danny. I honestly don’t know how I’d be doing at the station without you. Carmilla is insufferable to work with and LaF and Perry never really have time to talk.”

“I’m happy to be there for you! I know a little something about crappy coworkers. Before you got here Laura, my entire day consisted of Kirsch hitting on me, invalidating my experience with sports because I’m a woman, or both.”

“Yikes… Well, I’m happy I’m here too.” Laura said warmly.

They finished up dinner and finally, the part of the evening that Laura was truly nervous about came around. Danny sensed this as they got to the dock and gently elbowed her.

“Let’s do this Hollis. I want to meet all of these mysterious people from your past.”

They picked up some write-in nametags and Laura felt some of her anxiety disappear when she saw her date write “Danny ‘The Legend’ Lawrence” on a sticker and put it boldly on her chest.

“Come on, The Legend. I think I see my friend.” Laura waved eagerly at Betty and the blonde stood up, dragging a dark haired girl with her. Suddenly, her heart plummeted. Of course it was her. Of all the things Laura had expected to go and ruin the night, it had never even crossed her mind that it would be Carmilla Karnstein.


	5. Reunited and Split Apart

“Laura! I’m so happy to see you!” Betty exclaimed, leaning in for a hug.

“Betty! Ugh, I’ve missed you so much! Why don’t we hang out more often?” Laura hugged her tightly.

“Hey, you’re the one who left town all those years ago! Now that you’re back, we’re going to do some  _serious_  damage.” Then she caught sight of Danny. “And _this_  must be the gorgeous redhead you told me about!” Betty grinned at her appreciatively as both Laura and the sports reporter turned bright red, while Betty’s date fake-gagged behind her. “Oh! And before I forget, this is-”

“Carmilla.” Laura finished for her.

“Do you two know each other?” Betty asked cheerily.

“We work together.”

“Yes, unfortunately.” The two answered in tandem and Laura glared at Carmilla. The girl had some nerve making her out to be the unpleasant one.

“Oh, okay! Come on, let’s go sit. I think the speeches are about to start!”

Before they walked over to the table, Laura pulled Danny aside for a pep talk.

“Alright. So this is an unexpected and slightly unpleasant surprise. What’s the game plan?” Laura asked.

“Extreme sarcasm and bleak humor?” Danny asked hopefully.

“Yeah, but then I have to go back to work with her in the morning… Maybe we should just try to play nice for tonight.”

“Alright Hollis, whatever you decide.” Danny linked their arms together and they joined Betty and Carmilla at the table.

The speakers managed to make the concept of reunion roasts even more painful than they sounded. About halfway through the first one, Danny jokingly suggested a drinking game, but the others took it seriously.

Drink every time someone uses a nickname no one ever went by, drink every time the crowd groans, drink every time someone boos at a joke.

Half an hour in, Danny was still stone cold sober and amusing herself by tossing balled up straw wrappers into the glasses of a neighboring table full of jocks Laura had called “the jerk patrol”, to which Danny yelled “Drink!” in response.

“But I’m not giving a speech!” Laura protested.

“Still counts!” Betty chimed in as she and Carmilla knocked back their drinks.

Soon after, Carmilla disappeared off to the bar for another bloody mary (after getting a hard time from Laura about her attachment to brunch cocktails) and Danny had been badgered into having a round of drinks with the jocks after a wrapper had hit one square in the back of the head and they had recognized her as ‘the sports girl’ from the news.

Laura, only slightly tipsy at this point, turned to betty now that they were alone.

“So how did you meet Carmilla?” She was genuinely curious. Somehow she didn’t really see her underachieving slacker of a coworker frequenting the same places as her overachieving bigshot lawyer of a friend.

“Oh, just some random bar.”  _Ah, never mind_. Laura nodded attentively.

“How long have you been seeing each other?”

“We met in August… So about two months I guess?”

“Betty… Do you know that Carmilla has other plans with at least two other girls this weekend?”

“Yes, I do know that she’s seeing other people.” Betty rolled her eyes. “I am too. We’re keeping it casual.”

“But you brought her to the reunion. You don’t mind that she still has ‘casual dinners’ with ‘colleagues’?”

“I brought her because she’s fun at parties. And you know, it’s not like you to slut-shame, Laura. I remember bringing home a different person every night for at least a month freshman year. You didn’t say a single unsupportive thing, even when that one guy turned out to be kind of creepy.”

“He did turn out to be creepy… You’re right, I’m sorry. I was just trying to look out for you, but you can definitely do that yourself. And now that you bring it up? Holy crap did you have game in college!”

“Still do!” Betty grinned, clinking Laura’s glass with her own.

“So how’s life as a fancy lawyer at a top firm treating you?”

“I’ve been slaving over this pro bono case involving some wrongful incarceration suit, but I think I’ll be making partner soon if I keep it up. So basically, it is treating me like shit when I’m there, but like royalty when I’m not. You know what I mean?”

“Not exactly… But here’s to you Elizabeth Spielsdorf! You are doing it!”

“ _We’re_  doing it!”

* * *

A few hours later, the four of them ended up on the ship’s deck where a small instrumental band was sitting awkwardly. Betty ran back inside to pee, leaving Laura with Danny and Carmilla.

Sometime earlier, Danny had taken off her coat jacket and Laura couldn’t help but watch now, as she rolled her sleeves up, noticing her impressive forearm muscles as she tucked in the ends and adjusted her vest.

“If you stare any longer, your eyes are going to be stuck like that.” Carmilla smirked, popping open a bottle of champagne she’d taken from the bar.

“How clever.” Laura replied dryly, grabbing the champagne from Carmilla and taking a long swig. “So this was your ‘thing’ tonight, huh?”

“Sure was cutie. Although if I had known you were going to be here, I would have worn my best ‘I’m not listening’ outfit. What a waste. Instead, Carmilla was in a black dress that was tight, low-cut, and formfitting in all the right places, an outfit that Laura tried hard ignore was clearly not a waste. The reporter rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to stick out her tongue.

“You know what I want to do?” She asked, ignoring Carmilla’s comments.

“Is it something that we can do on this boat?” Danny asked cheekily, knowing that they were stuck together for the time being.

“Yes! Dancing! We should dance.” At this, the band perked up and started a slow tune. “Danny?”

“Oh… I don’t know. I don’t really dance.”

“Lighten up a bit Red.” Carmilla drawled across the table. “Come on cupcake.”

“What?”

“You want a dance or not?” Carmilla pulled the shorter girl up to her feet and held her close. Laura’s heart started pounding, and it definitely wasn’t from the alcohol. Danny began to seethe at the way Carmilla’s hands were traveling on Laura’s body. She was about to cut in when Betty stumbled back out, hauling JP Armitage towards them by the end of his tie. Laura smiled and waved, grinning at the awkward smile and wave she got in return. He was still just as much of a goober as he was in college.

“Look who I found! It’s Jeep! Guess what? Jeep, tell them what you told me!” She didn’t wait for him to respond before continuing. “This is his boat! He’s the captain!” She whispered loudly. By this time, Laura and Carmilla had separated and the reporter rushed over, partly to help Betty balance, and partly to make sure she didn’t strangle JP with his own tie.

“Hello my friends! How are you all?” JP asked brightly.

“You guys, he’s the  _captain_.” Betty reemphasized, frustrated that they didn’t understand. “Do you guys know what that means?”

“What does that mean, cutie?” Carmilla raised a sultry eyebrow.

“He can marry us!”

“Oooookay!” Laura sobered up at this comment. “Looks like we’ve had a  _bit_  too much to drink.”

“She’s right. When does this boat get to shore again?” Danny asked JP with a good-humored grin.

“At 1am, so we’ve got about another half hour.” JP said apologetically. Laura sighed and glanced at Betty who was now trying to grab the bottle of champagne from Carmilla.

“Thanks Jeep. We’ll take care of her from here.”

“Alright, it was good seeing you Laura, Betty, new acquaintances.” He nodded at Danny and Carmilla before retreating back inside.

By the time they had reached the shore, Betty was half asleep and Danny carried her to the car.

“How about I drive us all home and we call it a night?” She asked with a kind smile.

“Good plan Xena, let’s get the hell out of here.” Carmilla climbed into the backseat and took Betty from Danny’s arms.

They arrived at the lawyer’s swanky loft and Carmilla helped her out of the car.

“You know, I kind of feel like I should stay with her tonight.” Laura paused, gauging Danny’s reaction.

“Of course! Here, let me walk you guys to the door to make sure everything’s okay. After digging through her purse for about five minutes, Betty found her keys and opened the door. When Laura and Carmilla followed her in, she grinned and clapped sleepily.

“Yay, girls’ night! This will be just like old times Hollis!”

“What a joy.” Carmilla said darkly, helping Betty up the stairs to her bedroom.

“Well, this was a fun night.” Laura looked at Danny strangely. “I mean besides the almost marriages and getting held hostage by ex-frat boys.” The redhead leaned down and gave Laura a kiss on the cheek.

“Goodnight Laura Hollis.”

“Goodnight Danny Lawrence.”

Laura closed the door behind her, still blushing from the chaste kiss and found Carmilla curled up on the couch.

“What are you doing?”

“Seeing what state our little friend Betty was in, I didn’t think it was appropriate to get into bed with her, do you disagree?”

“No that’s… actually really thoughtful of you.” Laura was a little disconcerted at her sudden compassion. “Are you sure you’re feeling alright?”

“Hilarious. I’m going to bed now. Have a nice night on the floor.”

“Ah, that’s more like it.” Laura settled down on the plush rug and fell asleep trying not to listen too closely to Carmilla’s soft breathing.

* * *

Laura was rudely woken up way too early by the intense sunlight streaming into the loft from the floor-to-ceiling windows.  _Now that’s a little excessive_ , she thought groggily, glancing up at the couch to find it unoccupied.

“Alright Betty, let’s see what I can whip up for the killer hangover I know we both have…” She muttered, rummaging around her fridge. A few minutes of ill-advised blender use later, Laura walked up the stairs to Betty’s room with a pale green concoction sloshing around in two glasses.

She was surprised when the bed was already made with no sign of Betty anywhere. When she got closer, Laura noticed a note on the pillowcase and set down the glasses on the nightstand.

“Dear friend, I have gone on an extended vacation and do not intend to return to Silas in the near future. Goodbye, Elizabeth Spielsdorf.”

Laura furrowed her brow.

“Where are you Betty?”


End file.
